


Fiery Assurances

by Jathis



Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [28]
Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Dark Past, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Humor, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Prince Roland comes home from school on a very important mission.
Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091021
Kudos: 5





	Fiery Assurances

_ “The first executions were done in large groups. Large pyres were built and lit and it was not rare to continue throwing magic users and any sympathizers into the flames hours afterwards. There was a worry that keeping them imprisoned too long gave them the chance to use their magic against their captors and so it was decided to execute them as quickly as possible. _

_ “The Bull was invented in what is called the Blood and Fire age. When the population of magic users started to rapidly decline, it no longer became important to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Making it entertaining was the new goal. The Bull was created for this purpose. It is a large hollow statue of a bull made out of metal, typically iron or bronze. The condemned is locked inside and a fire is built underneath the statue. Various pipes in the bull’s neck and head altered their screams to sound like the animal was calling out. _

_ “The Dancing Shoes were…” _

The carriage driver glanced back a few times on the ride back to the Enchancian castle. The prince sat silent, looking out at the clouds. Normally the boy would be talking nonstop on the ride home. His sister also seemed perplexed by this but any attempt to get the prince to talk was met with nothing. She and the driver shared a look and could only shrug.

They had just come for a landing when another carriage arrived. Roland leapt down as the carriage from Hexley Hall landed beside them and he went straight to it.

“Roland, you forgot your books!” Tilly called after him. She blinked in surprise as her brother threw his arms around Cedric and Cordelia. By the looks on the siblings’ faces, they were just as surprised as she was. “Rollie..?”

“What...what is happening right now?” Cedric asked, trying to pretend he was not secretly happy to receive a hug from a former friend.

“Roland?” Cordelia asked, struggling to keep her head scarf on straight.

“What is going on out here?” Roland the First frowned as he approached the odd group, raising an eyebrow as his son turned to look at him, firmly holding Cedric and Cordelia’s hands. “Roland, what are you..?”

“I’m not letting go until I know they’re safe,” the prince said. Everyone stared at him in confusion. He refused to be deterred from his mission, shaking his head firmly before looking at his father. “I won’t,” he said.

“...are we in trouble?” Cedric asked.

“You must be but I haven’t done anything!” Cordelia sniffed.

“Stop being ridiculous. No one is in any danger! Now let them go and come inside!”

Roland refused to move, keeping Cedric and Cordelia beside him. “Not until I know!” he insisted.

“Roland, you’re scaring me,” Cordelia said. “Why are we in danger?”

“Because of the Conflagration Creed!” Everyone stared at him and he blushed but refused to lower his head. This was important to him. He wouldn’t back down now. “I’m not letting go until I know it was repealed after the age of Blood and Fire!”

Tilly sighed when she realized what must have happened. “You learned about the Trials during History class,” she said. 

“Yes! And it was horrible!” her little brother declared. “There were bulls and shoes and fires and stakes and..!”

“Is something wrong, your Highness?” Goodwyn asked, raising an eyebrow as he stood beside the king. He looked over at the prince and his children, placing his hands on his hips.

Roland the First could only shake his head. He couldn’t find it in his heart to be too angry at his son for his actions. “The prince is protecting your children from the Fire Trials,” he said.

“The..? Oh is that what this is about?” the royal sorcerer asked with a laugh. “I was afraid that Cedric had caused a scene somewhere!”

Cedric winced and instinctively hunched his shoulders when he caught his father’s eye, stepping a little behind Roland to block his view. He made a faint noise of distress but kept quiet.

“Come on then. Since you are so intent on seeing that it was repealed I will show you,” Roland the First said.

Cordelia looked over at Tilly and huffed as she and her brother were forced to walk on either side of the prince, his grip still as strong as ever. “Your brother is weird,” she said.

“Rollie uses his heart a lot more than others,” the princess softly countered. “It’s a good and bad thing.”

Cedric looked over at Roland. He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to work himself up to say something to him. Maybe he would like to go outside and play Dazzleball? If he was learning about the Trials they could exchange notes because Cedric was learning about them too at Hexley Hall. Maybe...maybe they could be friends again? He opened his mouth but found himself unable to say anything around so many people.

“Close your mouth, boy. You’re not trying to catch bugs,” Goodwyn said over his shoulder.

He closed his mouth and looked down at the floor, letting his wavy bangs hang over his face.

Roland the First brought them to the castle library. He shared a few words with one of the librarians and sent them off. “It is good for a Royal to be concerned about laws, old and new,” he said. “Although...perhaps without such an extreme reaction,” he added, giving Roland a look.

“Such a reaction is good when hearing about cruelties done to innocent people,” Tilly added with a small smile.

“Yes...yes, that’s true,” her father conceded. He looked up as several pieces of parchment were brought to him. These he placed on a table, spreading them out before pointing to them. “Look for yourself. Enchancia was one of the first kingdoms to officially stop the Burnings and began the pressure for others to follow suit.”

He hesitated a moment but finally let go of Cedric and Cordelia to look. Prince Roland looked over the old writings and he found that the Conflagration Creed had been repealed several years before the recorded end of that age. He smiled in relief, laughing as he happily pointed to this for his sister to see. “Look at that, Tilly!”

The princess laughed, hugging her brother. “You’re such a softie, Rollie!”

Cordelia rolled her eyes, mumbling as she left the library. “I need a long bath…”

“What are you still doing here, boy? I’m sure you have homework you should be doing,” Goodwyn said when Cedric did not immediately make a move to leave the library.

The teen said nothing, looking back at the prince once before he left.

“This should be under glass and put somewhere everyone can see it,” Roland told his father.

“You think so?”

“Yes! It was a horrible time and we should let everyone see that it will never happen again,” he said with a nod.

“Some would say it’s better to hide such things.”

“If it’s hidden no one can learn from it.”

The king shared a look with his daughter behind his son’s back. The two smiled before he turned back to Roland, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I think that is a very wise decision. Something a proper king would make.”

***

“Why is this the only repealed law on display?” Amber asked, pointing out the frame to her father.

Roland the Second followed her finger and hummed. “It’s a way of remembering that things will not be as bad as that again,” he said.

“But it’s not even a law anymore.”

“Yes, but anyone can look at it and know such a law will never be made again.” His daughter nodded a little as she started to understand and he smiled, recognizing the look on her face as one he had worn.


End file.
